061. The Original Story (4)

Only those who are loved, love in return.

The meaning was clear.

Owen cherished only those he allowed into his domain.

For example, his subordinates, knights, and the people employed at his estate—those who were clearly ‘his people.’

Excluding them, the only ones left were his friend Kyle and his beloved, Lucia.

“I’m glad.”

Hearing the clear response, Lucia smiled.

It was a deeply satisfying answer.

Owen also smiled back at her words.

The banquet was noisy, but the night that remained afterward was peaceful.

It was a tranquil night, with the moonlight softly casting its glow.

* * *

After Owen and Lucia left the banquet hall.

Bella stood there in a daze before finally leaving after quite some time had passed.

‘So she’s confident because she already has him.’

Recalling the words she had just heard, Bella felt a bitter laugh trying to escape.

Lucia, just as in *The Flower of the Empire*, was overflowing with confidence and arrogance.

She was dazzlingly beautiful and, at the same time, very skilled at manipulating people.

To the point where it instantly soured one’s mood.

‘How did Bella in the original story not get angry hearing this?’

By now, Bella was curious.

Why was the original ‘Bella’ so calm and peaceful?

Even though this person ultimately tried to harm her, ‘Bella’ remained composed and unwavering.

‘Does she not even feel anger?’

Anyone else would feel angry and upset, yet she seemed unaffected, which led Bella to such thoughts.

“… Lord Kyle.”

As she was replaying Lucia’s words in her mind, Bella noticed that Kyle was also preparing to leave.

Bella quickly finished her thoughts and approached Kyle.

“I think I might need your help regarding this incident…. Would it be alright if I visit the Mage Tower?”

“Oh, of course. If it’s something you need, you should do so.”

Unlike Owen, Kyle immediately responded with a positive answer.

‘Though this character has completely changed as well.’

Still, Kyle was different from how he was portrayed in *The Flower of the Empire*.

In the original story, he played the role of a secondary male lead, chasing after Bella, but now he seemed preoccupied with Owen.

‘Is this all he does while claiming to love someone?’

It seemed pathetic.

Although she wasn’t particularly interested in Kyle, she had found his straightforward pursuit of the person he liked rather appealing in the original story.

But to give up just because the person he liked already had a lover and only stay by her side?

That seemed more like something ‘Bella’ would do.

“When I visited the Mage Tower last time, you mentioned something, Lord Kyle.”

She couldn’t understand it, and it was something she would never do, but so be it.

It didn’t matter.

What did it matter who loved whom, as long as it wasn’t her concern?

But…

“You said… you like the Duke.”

It was a problem that the situation was falling apart as the original story diverged.

Even though she had entered *The Flower of the Empire*, the content was missing.

The characters existed, but they were merely present, and they had all changed.

That was tolerable up to a point.

But letting Owen fall completely into Lucia’s hands was unacceptable.

Though she hadn’t intended to end up here, regardless of that, she didn’t want to see such a conclusion.

“What…?”

When she muttered softly, Kyle looked at her with a surprised expression.

She couldn’t understand why he was so startled.

After all, he was the one who had said it the last time.

“I remember you saying so. Or am I mistaken?”

“Well, I did say that, but…”

When she asked again, he responded affirmatively, though his tone was uneasy, as if he were anxious.

“Should I help you?”

It was obvious that Owen, who had grown close to—no, for some reason, had fallen in love with Lucia—would not allow any room for her.

Owen was too upright to ever do something his beloved disapproved of.

You could tell just by how he had refused her earlier offer to visit the Duke’s estate.

He was clearly conscious of Lucia.

Even when she presented a legitimate reason for the visit, he had declined, making it evident.

“I think I can help you.”

But Kyle was different.

Unlike her, Kyle was already close to Owen.

Owen considered him a friend.

Even Lucia seemed unaware of the truth.

Since everything official was now to be handled at the Mage Tower, this was the best way to draw Owen out.

“What exactly…?”

When she smiled and made the offer, Kyle frowned.

He didn’t seem to trust her.

Perhaps he didn’t see the need.

Judging by the look on his face, he was having a hard time understanding.

Well, that made sense.

After all, she was offering to help with someone he had already decided to give up on.

It might indeed be difficult to comprehend.

“Since this might be your first time dealing with something like this, Lord Kyle. I’m not an expert, but I do know a little.”

‘Bella,’ like many heroines in romance fantasy novels, had no experience with relationships.

But she wasn’t Bella.

She had dated a couple of times back in Korea.

“So I think I could be of help.”

She didn’t know much about relationships between men, but love was love, wasn’t it?

So she figured it would be more or less the same.

All she had to do was say something that sounded plausible and have Kyle bring Owen to the Mage Tower.

That way, she could finally face Owen herself.

“Of course, it’s my first time making friends, but…”

While Bella was speaking with this intent, Kyle was feeling quite flustered.

It was true that he had said something like that when Bella visited the Mage Tower.

It was a bit embarrassing to admit, but he did think of Owen as a good person and a friend.

Sure, that was true, but…

Suddenly offering help?

Even though he was new to making friends, he didn’t think it was something that required assistance.

Though, as Bella said, she probably had more experience in building relationships than he did.

She must know more about forming bonds with people than he, who had lived his entire life isolated in the Mage Tower since childhood.

But even so.

No, perhaps because of that, he wanted to handle this on his own.

Since it was his first proper relationship that wasn’t based on hierarchy, he wanted to manage it himself.

“I think this is something I need to handle on my own.”

Perhaps it was because of that desire.

His words came out a bit more harshly than intended.

Maybe it was the feeling of someone interfering in his personal matters that he didn’t like.

Of course, he knew that Bella’s intentions were good, but good intentions don’t always lead to good outcomes.

“I appreciate your offer, and I know you meant well, Saint Lucia.”

But he didn’t want to hurt the person who was trying to help.

So Kyle quickly added more to his words.

“It’s just that this is a personal matter, so I’d prefer if you didn’t worry about it too much.”

Kyle firmly drew a line.

He believed that it was right to solve his personal relationships on his own.

And this is how Bella interpreted it.

‘…So he’s telling me not to worry about how he loves someone?’

The true meaning was never going to reach someone who had completely misunderstood.

‘I didn’t expect to succeed immediately, but his guard is much stronger than I thought.’

Bella sighed inwardly and nodded.

“I apologize. I must have been too forward and rude…”

She made sure not to forget to lower her head and trail off her words like ‘Bella’ would.

As she feigned a hurt expression, she could sense Kyle’s discomfort.

“Oh, no… that’s not it.”

“It’s fine. Please be honest with me. If I was rude, I should correct myself.”

Bella pretended to be upbeat as she spoke.

Seeing this, Kyle finally nodded back.

“Well, yes, but… You really weren’t rude.”

He added those words afterward.

“If that’s how you feel, then I understand. But please don’t hesitate to tell me if I make any mistakes! I would appreciate it.”

Bella concluded her words with a slight smile.

It seemed today was a failure, so it was best to part ways for now and try again next time.

She would have plenty of opportunities since she’d need to visit the Mage Tower frequently to resolve the original story’s events that occurred today.

‘The original event was horrific, though….’

Poison in the wine she was about to drink—just thinking about it again made her shudder.

Even though she was prepared for today’s events, had she made a mistake and forgotten, she would have died on the spot.

“If that’s the case, then I’ll do so.”

As Bella sighed inwardly, Kyle responded.

She gave a final polite bow, lightly holding the hem of her dress in both hands.

This was the result of the rigorous etiquette training she had endured at the temple.

“It was an honor to see you again today. I’ll see you soon at the Mage Tower. Have a good night.”

“Yes, see you next time.”

Kyle turned away.

Bella also turned around shortly after.

The banquet hall was already quiet, with most of the nobles having left.

It was only natural, given that an attempted assassination of the Saintess had occurred.

Everyone must have been frightened and fled.

They might casually chat about this and that, but when it comes down to it, they value their own lives.

Sure, many wealthy noble families or disreputable ones might secretly work with assassin guilds to commit all sorts of heinous acts, but even they wouldn’t dare to kill someone of noble or royal blood.

They wouldn’t be able to bear the consequences.

Since they typically displayed a strong-against-the-weak and weak-against-the-strong attitude, they only targeted people they deemed ‘easy.’

It was ironic how even in a novel’s world, things were so unfair.

“Your Imperial Majesty.”

But what could she do?

Humans were inherently such creatures.

Selfish, self-centered, and willing to trample others without hesitation to survive.

That was simply human nature.

“You haven’t returned yet, Saintess. What is it?”

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess had already left, but the Emperor remained, staying until the very end.

He likely wanted to decide how to handle the remaining envoys.

Since the incident had been entrusted to Bella, the envoys would have to be interrogated and monitored in the palace until everything was revealed.

The banquet hall, now nearly empty except for a few nobles, the envoys from the four nations, and the Emperor, was very quiet.

Bella slowly made her way to the Emperor’s seat of honor.

She gracefully held the hem of her dress and bowed as she had been taught.

“There’s something I wish to discuss. It’s about the Northern region.”

“The North, you say…?”

“I want to talk about the forests. The ones where monsters appear. I know that the ‘Forest of Snow’ and the ‘Forest of Mist’ are the most severe.”

In *The Flower of the Empire*, Bella brought peace to the empire through various means, earning great fame as a result.

The first method was by resolving today’s assassination attempt and suppressing the four nations.

The second was by creating a holy barrier around the northern forests.

She created a barrier known as the ‘Shield of Protection,’ which surrounded the forests, preventing the monsters from leaving the forests.

“That’s correct.”

“I heard that the ‘Forest of Snow’ has been devastated and needs restoration. They say it’s due to the distortion caused by my awakening….”

Bella trailed off, feigning a guilty expression.

In reality, she felt nothing, but the real ‘Bella’ would have acted this way.

‘Bella’ was an excessively kind person who would feel guilty even over such things.

“There was nothing that could be done about that. There’s no reason for the Saintess to blame herself.”

“But I’ve heard that it will take a long time to restore the forest. They said it could take until late autumn or even early winter.”

The Emperor had personally invested magic stones and mana stones for the Crown Prince, Richard.

Thanks to that, the forest would be fully restored before winter arrived, but that was all.

“Once the assassination attempt is resolved, I would like to visit the northern forests. I wish to create a ‘Shield of Protection’ so that such incidents will never happen again, Your Majesty.”